Breaking Bad Review 403:Open House

   "Open House" was somewhat of a letdown from the past two weeks. The character development was rather weak,and there was no action. It was nice to see Saul again,but that was pretty much it.
   I was right about the lab notes and Hank. Next week,I suppose we will find out if there's anything about Gus or Walt in them. Marie's return to kleptomania was a bit of a surprise to me. That hasn't been brought up since season one. One good thing it accomplished was it seemed to jolt Hank back to normal. He's not there yet,but he's on the right track,and I hope he gets there.
   Jesse's hedonistic orgies have gotten worse. Throwing wadded-up dollar bills into the open mouth of some guy,and then throwing the money in the air for the drugged people to crawl over and attack each other for them is a new low. Another thing,the way he explained to Walt about getting beat up was very disturbing. He did it so casually. Afterward,he went to the go-kart track. Something I want to say about that,the track looked very nice.The track I went to was positively crappy in comparison. For one thing,at my track,the barrier was metal. Here it was made out of tires. Still sort of hard,but not like metal. I almost broke my collarbone at my track. And,they have helmets at this track. They didn't at mine.
   Using the fake inspector to make the car wash owner sell was inspired thinking by Skyler. She's more business savvy than everyone gives her credit for. And she was right about the champagne. She'll end up dead by series end.
   I think that's it. If there's more,I'll put it in my next review.

Breaking Bad Review 402: Thirty Eight Snub

   This week's episode of Breaking Bad wasn't quite as good as last week,but it was still very intense. The opening scene in the motel room. with Walt buying a gun was well played. I didn't expect Bobby from Supernatural to be the gun seller,though. The meaning of the episode's title was much more obvious than last week,too.
   There wasn't as much action,but the emotional tension was unbearable. Case in point,Jesse. On the surface,he seemed okay,what with the partying and all. He was interacting with his friends,Badger and Skinny Pete. Everything was great. But Gale's murder changed something in him. Broke something. The outward facade is hiding a particularly awful case of PTSD. As bad as he was before,he was essentially a good person. He's going to crack,and when he does,it's not going to be pretty. Kudos to Aaron Paul for another amazing performance.
  Something I didn't get to last week,Hank. Even though he was shot,there's no excuse for deliberately mistreating Marie like that. She's only trying to help out. And the rock thing, I don't get that. I don't even know what a blue corandum is. Jesse's partying is a symptom of his PTSD,Hank's is this rock thing. Maybe the lab notes found at the end of last week will snap him out of this bout of self-pity. I hope so.
   Last week, Skyler truly began her descent into the moral void I call the "abyss". Her manipulation of the locksmith was flawless. Using her daughter,Holly,was inspired,also. This week,she tries to convince the car wash owner "with the eyebrows that won't quit" to sell the business. Throughout the series,I have enjoyed watching her. She seemed like one of the only decent characters on this show. I'm sad to say that's not the case. In two episodes alone,her inner Lady Macbeth has really come out. Now,I suppose the best character is Walter Jr.,who hasn't been seen in a while.
   Walt,armed with his new snub-nose pistol and hat,showed up at Gus' house to kill him. But just as he was walking to the door,Mike called and told him to leave. Good thing,considering the whole box-cutter incident. And later on,Mike and Walt met in a bar to talk. Walt with his idea to take down Gus and assume control of the business. Mike,with the most sensible response to the situation,punched Walt in the jaw. It was the best thing that happened to Walt this week. He was getting too big for his britches and needed to be taken down a peg. 
    I wish to offer some predictions for the rest of the series:
  1. By the end of the season,Walt's cancer will return.
  2.At the end of the season,Gus will die.
  3.Next season will have a long flashforward to when Holly is grown.
  4.Next season,Jesse will die.
  5.By the end of the series,Hank will discover the truth about Walt.
   I think that's everything. Sincerely,Observer.

Breaking Bad Review 401:Box Cutter

   Again, this is another post I was writing before my computer broke down. I apologize for the wait.

  AMC has a long and successful track record when it comes to television programs.
Mad Men, The Walking Dead, The Killing,these are some of their more famous offerings. I myself am partial to Mad Men. But,perhaps their best is a little show called Breaking Bad.
  At first,it doesn't seem like much. No moving corpses or hard-drinking advertising icons. And the plot is deceptively simple: a dying chemistry teacher manufactures drugs to make money for his family. There is much more to it than that,but that's the basis for the whole show.
   Watching Bryan Cranston on Malcolm in the Middle for years,you would never know he is such an amazing actor. As the teacher,Walter White, he makes you sympathize with his situation even if you don't agree with what he's doing. And as it goes on,you definitely will not agree with what he does.
   Before this premiere,I finished the season three boxset. It was mostly great,it dragged
 somewhat at first, but it had an amazing ending that cemented my resolve to watch the new season. And so, I saw it on this past Sunday night hoping it would be as good as the previous three seasons. I can say I was not disappointed.
   It started with a flashback to somewhere before Walt started using the new lab,when Gale (one of the lab assistants was still alive.I think the worst part of the episode was the fact that Gale is dead. It's worse because of how he was the one that convinced Gus (their boss) to hire Walt and his lab partner Jesse in the first place. The actor that played Gale was very good. After that, it jumped forward to the moment when Gale was shot. The pan up to the tea kettle with the bullet hole was particularly effective.
   After Jesse got back to the lab, not a whole lot happened. There was some really good acting by Cranston, especially when he's pleading for his life. Jesse didn't say much,but I suspect he is suffering from a major case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
   And then Gus came. The meaning of the title,"Box Cutter",was not apparent at first. Gale opening the lab equipment with one seemed unfitting to be an episode title. But when Gus came, I knew he was pissed. He didn't even have to say anything. Just him walking around getting dressed up in a lab suit,wordless, was one of the most terrifying things I've seen all year. And that wasn't the worst part.
   After he started looking in drawers,it came to me what he was searching for. I didn't know what he would do with it,though. He then walked over to one of his workers,Victor. Before tonight,the worst thing I saw on television this year was the penultimate episode of House,the one where he cut open his own leg in his bathtub. There are many programs I watch that have a lot of gross-out moments,Bones and The Walking Dead come to mind,but the episode of House takes the cake.
   When Gus slit Victor's throat with the box cutter,and all the blood came shooting out,I was speechless. And I wasn't the only one. Gus just washed his hands, took off his lab suit,and told them to go back to work. That's all. I wish to be the first to say, "Giancarlo Esposito for Supporting Actor, Drama" at next year's Emmys.
  I guess that's everything. If there's more,I'll put it in my next review.